Hannover Fairs releases Canadian Wind Energy show report

November 18, 2016 – The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) and its partner Hannover Fairs (Canada) announced that CanWEA's 32nd Annual Conference and Exhibition attracted 1,676 registrants and hosted 126 international exhibitors, covering 23,200 square feet of exhibition space at the BMO Center in Calgary, Alberta from November 1-3. Canada is the seventh largest producer of wind energy in the world. Canadian wind projects represent more than 11,000 megawatts (MW) of wind energy capacity, delivering clean and cost-effective energy to consumers, as well as new jobs and investment to communities across the country.

A highlight of this year’s conference was Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Parks and the Minister responsible for the Climate Change Office, The Honorable Shannon Phillips’ announcement that the Alberta government will initiate a process in November to procure the first 400 MW of 5,000 MW of new renewable energy. This procurement represents the first step towards fulfilling Alberta’s target of renewable energy meeting 30 percent of electricity demand in the province by 2030.

Calgary’s Mayor Naheed Nenshi delivered the opening remarks at the conference’s first plenary session, a session spotlighting wind energy opportunities in western Canada. Highlights include the Alberta government plan that will support the installation of 5,000 MW of renewable energy as it works to meet its goal of 30 percent renewable electricity by 2030. The plan expects to attract at least $10.5 billion in new investment and create a minimum of 7,200 new jobs.
The Saskatchewan government plan expects to target the addition of at least 1,600 MW of wind energy to its electricity supply mix over the next 15 years.
Also of note, Vice President of Planning, Environment and Sustainable Development at SaskPower Guy Bruce shared that over the next few years, a large number of SaskPower’s generating facilities will reach the end of their life spans. SaskPower expects demand for electricity to continue to grow as the province grows and has set a goal of reducing electricity sector greenhouse emissions 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

In her keynote address on Wednesday, November 2, the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, The Honorable Catherine McKenna stated that 100 percent of electricity for federal buildings will be renewable energy by 2025. Her overall address focused on her government’s efforts to tackle climate change and the critical role clean energy technologies like wind energy must play.

Complementing the Minister’s address, Wednesday’s program delved deep into the technical, policy and market drivers that are shaping Canada’s evolving energy industry. The combination of low cost and zero emissions makes wind energy a leading source of permanent, large-scale and affordable greenhouse gas reductions. Therefore, wind energy is poised to play an increasingly important role as policymakers look for ways to make the deep carbon cuts needed to meet Canada’s international climate obligations. Wind energy will be an important player in cleaning electricity grids in Alberta and Saskatchewan and across Canada clean electricity grids will be needed for reducing fossil fuel use in other sectors through electrification and in the United States through clean energy exports.

In addition to high-level policy discussions and market analysis, Wednesday’s conference sessions gave delegates a chance to gain insight into the science of assessing wind as a resource, data-driven strategies to improve project performance, models of community engagement and the evolution of storage technologies.

Thursday’s conference sessions gave delegates an overview of Alberta’s renewable electricity program principles, objectives and details on the first competitive procurement under the program. CanWEA presented findings from its ground-breaking Pan-Canadian Wind Integration Study, which demonstrated how Canada can get more than one-third of its electricity from wind energy without compromising grid reliability. At the same time the study showcased how wind energy can dramatically cut emissions, save billions in fossil fuel costs and generate new export opportunities. Program sessions also featured discussions around Canada’s rapidly expanding wind energy operations and maintenance (O&M) market. During these sessions, representatives from some of the country’s largest wind farm operators weighed in on strategies to boost efficiency, improve productivity and lower costs. Ongoing innovation on the O&M side of the business helps position the wind industry to play its part in meeting ambitious climate and sustainability goals as effectively as possible.

CanWEA’s 33rd Annual Conference and Exhibition will be held October 3-5, 2017 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal in Montreal, Canada.

Hannover Fairs develops and manages marketing programs at Deutsche Messe events in Hannover, Germany, Canada and the United States, as well as in such key emerging markets as China, India, Mexico and Turkey. Working closely with its clients, Hannover Fairs helps them maintain their competitive position on and off the event floor. The company’s programs reflect the global scope of Deutsche Messe's activities.